Thumbs up or down: Eagles beat reporters weigh in on the Jalen Reagor trade

With Jalen Reagor settling into his new home, Howie Roseman spoke candidly about the decision to draft the former TCU star.

The Eagles sent Reagor to the Minnesota Vikings for two Day 3 draft picks last week, closing the chapter on the wide receiver’s disappointing stint with the Eagles. Roseman took Reagor ahead of Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson and has alluded to the reasons for that decision in the past.

During a radio interview on WIP Tuesday morning, Roseman expressed regret for the decision to pass on Jefferson, who went one pick after Reagor.

“It’s obvious, I’m not going to sit here and lie, we’d love to have that moment back,” Roseman said on Angelo Cataldi’s morning show. “I believe that all of these moments, they lead to where you’re getting. Like I feel like when we won a world championship, there were some mistakes made in that process, but they lead us to get to where we want to be. I can’t go back in time and change it, all I can do is to try and learn from it and get better.”

Roseman also addressed the reasoning for the decision, which he’s alluded to in the past; Reagor was perceived as a better fit as an outside receiver because of his speed, while Jefferson’s usage primarily as a slot receiver raised concerns about him occupying the middle of the field where Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert operate often.

“I think a lot of the message there is, we just have to take the best players at all times,” he said. “We don’t have to worry so much about fit or what we have on the team. You go back to that moment, we had two tight ends who were really good in the middle of the field, Greg Ward was coming off of a really good year in the slot. We’re looking for a specific role as opposed to just grading the players. That’s on me, 100%. At the end of the day, I’m responsible for all of that. But I also promise you one thing, if I make a mistake I’m going to do everything in my power to make it up.”

Here are Inquirer Eagles beat reporters EJ Smith and Josh Tolentino’s take on the decision to trade Reagor:

Thumbs down

Considering the resources expended to select Jalen Reagor, it’s impossible to give the Eagles a thumbs up for ridding themselves of him for a conditional fourth-round pick in 2024 and a seventh-rounder next year.

It doesn’t take the benefit of hindsight to find flaws in the team’s decision to take Reagor over Justin Jefferson, Brandon Aiyuk, Michael Pittman, and a handful of other talented wideouts who have gone on to produce in the NFL. Reagor felt like a reach then, and that had borne itself out over the last few seasons.

That said, the Eagles were wise to give Reagor a fresh start elsewhere. Things reached a point last season when it seemed the now-23-year-old needed to start over. He dealt with multiple tragedies in his life and had a challenging relationship with frustrated fans.

Even if he turns his career around in Minnesota, it was the right time to move on for the Eagles. That said, trading him shouldn’t be viewed as an outright win for the organization.

» READ MORE: Jalen Reagor didn’t deserve the hate he got from Eagles fans

While a conditional 2024 fourth-round pick, paired with a 2023 seventh-round selection, might look like an attractive return at first glance, the reality is that Reagor is still a former first-round pick. His young career has shown he probably didn’t warrant that type of draft pedigree, but the Eagles dug themselves their own hole by selecting Reagor with their top pick in 2020. It’s a bit poetic that Reagor ends up with the Minnesota Vikings. He joins Jefferson, the All-Pro receiver who was famously drafted exactly one pick later.

It also should be noted that Reagor’s struggles — paired with the whiffed second-round selection of JJ Arcega-Whiteside just one year earlier — played a huge role in general manager Howie Roseman pursuing additional star power at wide receiver. The Eagles drafted former Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith with their top pick in last year’s draft, and they added A.J. Brown in the offseason. If Brown and Smith help take the Eagles to greater heights, many fans might quickly forget the front office’s misses on Arcega-Whiteside and Reagor — and the compensation in the Reagor deal also can become irrelevant. But perspective is key here.